Opinion
 

Letters to the Editor

Prize dissent

To the editor:

I find it ironic that Ken Stocks calls for the arrest of Michael Moore ("Moore's film seditious, might backfire," Opinion, Thursday) under the Sedition Act of 1918 for the arguments made in Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11. Stocks chooses to use a medium, the free press, to advocate for an outright violation of free speech through the enforcement of a law repealed in 1921.

In a time when the government has continued to advocate the use of legislation such as the Patriot Act to violate the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens, Stocks sanctions silencing anyone who, in the words of the Sedition Act, uses "disloyal, profane, scurrilous or abusive language" to criticize the U.S. government.

He claims that the "silent majority" of this country "hate(s) attacks on our president, our country and our way of life." I would argue that this was true until the Watergate scandal. The loyalty of the American people to their president left with the Nixon administration.

Today, people question their leaders, as they ought to. Indeed, dissent is the most patriotic act a U.S. citizen may perform. With the removal of an incumbent politician at election time, the patriotic act of political dissent is invoked. In fact, the most "un-American" and unpatriotic act I can fathom would be any attempt to quell the exercise of these rights.

Stocks would do well to look in the mirror and ask what truly makes him different from Moore. Other than their differences in political ideology, I would argue that Stocks and Moore are made from the same mold. Luckily, the vast majority of Americans, who reside in the middle of the political spectrum, recognize an extremist when they see one.

Bobby L. Warren
law student

To the editor:

Why does Ken Stocks bring up the Sedition Act? Get this straight: the Sedition Act is unconstitutional because it violates the Bill of Rights. Stocks' argument against the movie is completely backward. If anything, the confused voters will vote Democratic. What would make anyone vote otherwise? The president has failed to kill bin Laden. I've spoken to Vietnam veterans who say that Afghanistan was a game, because if we were to actually go in for bin Laden's head, it would have taken a quarter of the time it actually took.

I'm surprised Stocks didn't bring up the alliances of the Bush family with the Carlyle Group. Obviously he left that out because "only sane people" wouldn't believe that George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush are running the highest monetary trust in the history of the United States. They're getting filthy rich while the sons and daughters of the "quiet voters" are fighting for our country in a war based on lies.

If the war was so just, members of the Congress would send their own children to fight. If you concentrated harder through the movie, you would have noticed that there is only one congressman who had children fighting in the war. The other politicians, if you can rightly call them that, just gave Moore a distasteful look. If Stocks thinks this war is so just, why are there men coming home and refusing to go back?

The truth has come out, and believe it or not, Bush is going to lose this election. He is a pathetic, greedy, inept president who has done nothing but take our money and the lives of our loved ones. 

Eric Maguran,
mathematics sophomore

A true clean air act

To the editor:

As an alumna of UH for both my bachelor's and my master's, I am really proud of my university for taking measures to protect students and staff from secondhand smoke ("Senate approves smoking ban," News, July 1). As an asthmatic, my breathing is adversely affected whenever I must enter buildings where smokers are hanging out in front of entrances.

I support and encourage UH in setting policies to protect nonsmokers from the health effects of secondhand smoke. Everyone has a right to breathe clean air and to be able to go to school without endangering their health.

Judy Terry,
alumna
 

Letters to the editor are welcome from all members of the UH community and should focus on issues, not personalities. Letters must be typed and must include the author's name, telephone number and affiliation with the University. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, language and space. Letters may be delivered in person to Room 151, Communication; e-mailed to dclettrs@mail.uh.edu ; or faxed to (713) 743-5384.